Dam construction



United States Patent 3,465,530 DAM CONSTRUCTION John C. Renfro, 48 Doheny Park Village, 34202 Del Obispo, Dana Point, Calif. 92629 Filed July 6, 1967, Ser. No. 651,526 Int. Cl. E02b 7/02, 3/10 US. Cl. 61-30 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dam construction comprises spaced piers, the piers having recess in their surfaces for the interfitting reception of beams extending between and supported by the piers, piles extending through the piers into the earth foundation and cables secured to the piers and to hold down the beams.

A dam construction, preferably of the overflow type, in which the height of the dam is relatively small and which will impound water behind the dam to permit infiltration of water into gravel stratas to prevent excessive flooding, especially in the mountainous areas.

An object of my invention is to provide a novel darn construction which can be readily prefabricated and subsequently transported to the desired dam site where it can be erected for the purpose of entraping water in a meadow, ravine, gully, wash, or the like.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel dam construction which can be transported to remote areas, or where excessive water runoff would cause erosion or other damage, and also where the runoff water would be subsequently lost by drainage into an ocean or lake.

My dam construction is of the low level type which might be described as a beaver type dam, where water is impounded back of the dam and subsequently percolates through the soil into water bearing gravels or sands where it is stored for subsequent use by native plants, trees, etc.

Still another Object of my invention is to provide a novel darn construction which is simple to erect, and which can be transported by a minimum number of workmen, and which can be readily erected to form an effective dam to impound water in desired areas.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my dam construction erected in a gully, ravine, or the like.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 33'of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view of my dam construction illustrating a means to drain the lake or pond back of the dam.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates a ravine', gully or water drainage area that is to impound water in a lake or pond 2 back of the dam structure 3. To prevent excessive water runoff in mountainous or other remote areas it is desirable to entrap flood waters or the like back of a restraining dam, and to permit the water to percolate downwardly through the soil, gravel or sand, and thus prevent excessive runoff and subsequent loss of fresh water into oceans or lakes.

When the dam site has been selected in the appropriate ravine, gully, wash, or the like 1, two or more piers 4 and 5 are fixedly positioned in the side walls of the "ice ravine, gully, or the like, and these piers when rigidly anchored in position form the foundation or base for the dam wall, which will be subsequently described. The piers 4 and 5 are identical in construction and, consequently, only one will be described in detail. A pier foundation member 6 is embedded securely in the wall of the ravine 1 and it may be formed of wood, concrete, or the like. A plurality of downwardly extending teeth or serrations 7 are formed on the bottom of the pier and project downwardly into the soil or strata of the ravine. A plurality of upwardly projecting teeth 8 are formed on the foundation 6 and are adapted to receive the upper pier member 9. The pier member 9 is also formed with teeth 10 which fit the teeth 8 and thus lock the parts 6 and 9 together to prevent shifting or horizontal movement of these pier members. The pier members 6 and 9 are formed with vertical holes 1112 respectively, which receive the piles 13 and 14 which are driven into the soil at each end of the pier structure 4. Thus the pier is rigidly and fixedly mounted in the ravine or gully, and especially at both sides thereof across which the completed dam extends.

When the piers 4 have been fixedly positioned as described, the beam or wall units 15 are placed in position. These beams or wall sections are formed of wood, concrete, or the like, and are multilaterally shaped. The beams 15 may be solid or hollow as required for the proper strength. As shown, each beam section is square in cross section so that they will accurately fit one against the other, especially as shown in FIGURE 2. The lowermost layer of beams 15 fit into the upwardly directed teeth 16 of the pier section 9. Thus the superimposed layers of beams 15 will be tied into the piers 4 and 5 to form the restraining dam 3. To prevent the beams 15 from shifting or moving under pressure of water, I provide tie-down cables 17 which are fastened to the pilings 13- 14 and which extend over the beams 15, thus securely tying these beams down to the piling and preventing ac cidental dislodgement of these dam members.

To facilitate more rapid percolation of water into a sand or gravel bed from the lake or pond 2, I provide a pipeline 18 under the dam 3, and thence to a drilled well 19 which extends down to a sand or gravel bed 20. A valve 21 in the pipe 18 will control the flow of Water into the drilled well 19.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A dam construction comprising a dam foundation including spaced piers, and beams extending between said piers, means on said piers shaped to receive said beams, and means on the piers extending into the dam foundation to prevent horizontal shifting of said piers relative to the dam foundation, and piles extending through said piers and into the dam foundation.

2. A dam construction as recited in claim 1, and piles extending through said piers and into the dam foundation, and a cable extending between the piles and over said beams.

3. A dam construction as recited in claim 1, and holddown means extending over the beams to secure said beams to the piers.

4. A dam construction as recited in claim 1, and said means on the piers to fit the beam being tooth shaped, and the beams being polygonal in cross section to fit into said teeth.

5. A dam construction as recited in claim 1, and holddown means extending over the beams to secure said beams to the piers, said means on the piers to fit the beams being tooth shaped, and the beams being polygonal in cross section to fit into said teeth.

6. A dam construction as recited in claim 1, and piles extending through said piers and into the dam foundation, hold-down means extending over the beams to secure said beams to the piers, and said means on the piers to fit the beams being tooth shaped, and the beams being polygonal in cross section to fit into said teeth.

7. A dam construction as recited in claim 1, piles extending through said piers and into the dam foundation, a cable extending between the piles and over said beams, and said means on the piers to fit the beams being tooth shaped, and the beams being polygonal in cross section to fit into said teeth.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

